The original wrestler who played Doink the Clown was found dead in Plano, Texas on Friday.
Matt Osborne was found by his girlfriend, according to multiple reports. He was 55 years old. TMZ is reporting that police have launched a homicide investigation, but that they’re just following standard operating procedure. It appears Osborne’s death was accidental, according to TMZ.
Osborne played the Doink gimmick for a year before being fired by the WWE following “a number of personal issues,” according to PWInsider.com. His biggest matches were against Crush in WrestleMania IX and Bret Hart in SummerSlam 1993.
Doink was portrayed as an evil clown by Osborne, who played cruel jokes on fans and fellow wrestlers. The Doink character continued after Osborne had left the organization. Osborne continued wrestling as Doink and as “Matt Borne” in the ECW and on the independent circuit.
Photo via Facebook/Matt Borne (Doink the Clown)
